1

APJ ABDUL KALAM AIR & SPACE LAW & POLICY ESSAY COMPETITION, 2020
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I. What is this essay competition about? c. Abstract of about 250-300 words to be placed at
the beginning of the essay. Also specify 4-5
The relevance and the utility created by aviation and
keywords in the abstract.
space sector(s) have drawn everyone's attention,
especia l ly, during t he COVID t imes. This d. The mandatory formatting speci ications for the
development in terms of their contribution and essay are a 1-inch margin on all sides; Times
relevance to the economy is very positive but sadly New Roman typeface with 12-point font size;
what we witnessed is the lack of vision and strategy Alignment Justi ied and 1.5 line spacing.
when it comes to resilience to withstand a pandemic
e. For footnotes, the mandatory formatting
of this nature. Governments globally failed in their
speci ications shall be: Times New Roman
efforts and as lawyers and policy experts, we surely
typeface with 10-point font size; and single (1)
have a role to play to support the business that is of
line spacing.
great importance to the economy, both at national
and international level. f. Authorities must be cited throughout the essay
using the BLUEBOOK 19th edition citation
Along with a strong policy that supports aviation,
method.
s p a c e , a n d g e n e r a l t r a n s p o r t s e c t o r ( s ) ,
jurisprudence needs to be established and academic g. A bibliography is not expected. Tables and
- private sector commitments in this area need to be igures should have a title and number.
further enhanced.
h. Quotations may be in the original language if a
II. What is the objective of this competition? translation is provided in English either in the
text or in a footnote.
It is intended to provide insight into related
problems and concerns by including possible i. ANONYMITY: To protect anonymity and to
solutions and analyses for air and space law ensure a fair process, the name of the applicant
practitioners and experts. Besides, these must NOT appear anywhere in the submitted
observations illustrate the global dimension of air essay.
and space operations and the need for a progressive
j. PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism is a cause for
strategy for designing and implementing law and
immediate disquali ication. The original content
policy to resolve existing and potential challenges.
limit shall stay above 80 percent.
The name of the contest is in a certain way a tribute
k. The copyright of the entry to the Journal will rest
to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's contribution to India's
with the Editorial Board once the entry has been
aerospace industry. By offering a forum for students,
selected and the authors(s) of the same have
educators, and professionals from diverse ields, we
been noti ied.
support his vision.
VII. What are the modes of communication for the
III. Who are the organisers?
participants?
Mr. Sagar Singamsetty is the Founder of the “Dr.
All communications to the Participants will be done
APJ Abdul Kalam Air and Space Law and Policy Essay
through their respective email-ID.
Competition” and Managing Director of Aerospace
and Aviation Lawyers Association of India (AALAI). All queries can be directed to us through our of icial
The essay competition is organized by the Aerospace email-ID: aerospaceconference@nalsar.ac.in with
and Aviation Lawyers Association of India (AALAI) the subject of the query being “Query for APJ Abdul
in collaboration with the Centre for Aerospace & Kalam Essay Competition 2020”.
Defence Laws (CADL),NALSAR University of Law, All the submissions of manuscripts must be sent to
Hyderabad. aerospaceconference@nalsar.ac.in with the subject
IV. What is the theme of the competition? line being “Submission for APJ Abdul Kalam Essay
Competition 2020”.
“Legal and policy aspects that need further
consideration in the development of the future * Please note, any entry not complying with the
vision and strategy relating to Aviation, Space and said guidelines shall not be put to review and
transport sector(s)”. evaluation.

V. Is there any registration fee being charged? VIII. Will the authors be required to pay any
publication and/or printing charges for the hard
No, we are not charging any registration fee at any copy of the special issue?
stage of the competition.
No. The authors of the winning entries are not
VI. What are the guidelines for submission? required to pay any amount for the publication and/
or printing of the essays in the special issue.
a. The essays shall be in English.

b. The word limit for the essay is 4500-5000 words

(exclusive of footnotes or any other references).
f
f

IX. How will the plagiarism be checked by the India. The organizers may invite the authors of the
editorial board? What are the guidelines top 10 selected essay entries to present their essay
regarding plagiarism? at an International Conference on air and space law
All manuscripts shall be screened through the and policy that will be organized in May/June 2021
plagiarism software “Turnitin”. Plagiarism is cause in Hyderabad, India. Cash awards will be presented
for immediate disquali ication. The permissible level at the international conference.
of cited material is subject to proper citation of such
content.
XIV. 2019 Edition and Winners of the essay
X. What are the criteria of evaluation? competition

Quality of Research 15 Marks The irst edition of the essay competition had more
than 60 submissions and this goes to show the
Originality/Creativity 20 Marks interest in this niche area of law and policy.
Following were the winners of the 2019 edition and
Language, Grammar, 15 Marks
received cash awards:
and Style
• Keertana Venkatesh, “Countering Cyber-
Organization, 20 Marks
Attacks in Outer Space: Challenges and
Structure, and
Clarity of Expression Solutions in Law and Policy”.

Viability of 30 Marks • Ishita Das, “‘Bringing A Piece of Moon to Your

Recommendation / Honey’: The Legal Challenges Relating to
Suggestions Mining of the Lunar Resource”.
• Vani Kaushik, “Need for Revisiting the
Registration Convention, 1975”.

XI. What is the methodology of evaluation?

Other selected essays from 2019 can be found at:
The essays will be evaluated in three stages.
h ps://cadl.nalsar.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/
STAGE 1: The essays will be evaluated by the Editorial IJASL-Journal.pdf
Board of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Essay Competition. The
top twenty essays will be sent for stage two.
XV. What are the important dates to remember?
STAGE 2: The essays will then be evaluated by our
Consulting Board, which comprises legal practitioners LAST DATE FOR SUBMISSION: 15th February 2021
and research scholars in the ield of air and space law.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULT: 15th April 2021
The top ten essays will be sent to stage three.
DATE OF CONFERENCE: May/June 2021
STAGE 3: The essays will further be evaluated by
Advisory Board, which comprises Emeritus Professors,
Professors, Academicians, and Senior Legal
P ra c t i t i o n e r s f ro m d i f f e re n t n a t i o n a l a n d
international universities, law irms, and companies in ***
the ield of Air and Space Law. The last stage
evaluation shall determine three winners of the
competition.

XII. What is the prize money for the competition?

RANK AMOUNT
Winner INR 50,000 (USD 670)

First Runners Up INR 30,000 (USD 400)

Second Runners Up INR 20,000 (USD 260)

* The amount is inclusive of international money

transfer charges or national/international postal
tax deduction.

XIII. Will there be any publication of the winning

essays?
In addition to cash prizes for the top three winning
entries, the top ten entries will be published in a
special issue of the Indian Journal of Air and Space
Law (ISSN 2394-6091), NALSAR University of Law,
tt
f
f